Maybe they should be calling Carl Edwards the concrete king. Not even a penalty for pit lane speeding slowed Edwards as he ran away with a victory, his fifth at Nashville, in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race.
Even though the penalty dropped him to 14th on a restart Edwards charged back and led 125 laps around the 1.33 mile concrete paved oval for his eighth Nationwide win on concrete, a NASCAR record.
“I can’t believe I was leading and I sped on pit road,” Edwards said. “That was really, really not smart. But in the end it made our night more fun. I probably learned more.”
Finishing second was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. another Roush Fenway Racing driver: “We were just too loose on that last run,” he said.
“We were tight in the middle part of the race. I never really got it exactly where I needed it. We were one adjustment away from being really fast, but Carl’s Fastenal Mustang has always been really good here,” he added.
Pole-sitter, Brad Keselowksi, like Edwards a full-time Sprint Cup series driver, led 89 of the first 115 laps but had engine problems that forced him to run on seven cylinders and he finished twelfth.
“I’m not sure what happened with the motor,” Keselowski said. “Something broke and we’re still not really sure. It’s a little bit disappointing because we had such a fast Discount Tire Dodge at the start of the race.”
Austin Dillon, Richard Childress’ grandson, followed up his Friday night’s Camping World Truck Series win with a third place in a Kevin Harvick, Inc-owned Chevrolet.
Dillon led a few laps but after the final pit stop when he took two new tires he couldn’t keep up with the Roush Fenway drivers: "I think it shows that we can go out and compete against these Cup guys at another level," he said.
All was not well for the KHI team however as Elliott Sadler, who had arrived in the series lead, lost it when he broke down on pit lane with a rear axle problem.
Sadler finished in 30th place, falling to third in the championship, 14 points back to Reed Sorenson who finished eighth and is five points ahead of Stenhouse Jr.
Even though the penalty dropped him to 14th on a restart Edwards charged back and led 125 laps around the 1.33 mile concrete paved oval for his eighth Nationwide win on concrete, a NASCAR record.
“I can’t believe I was leading and I sped on pit road,” Edwards said. “That was really, really not smart. But in the end it made our night more fun. I probably learned more.”
Finishing second was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. another Roush Fenway Racing driver: “We were just too loose on that last run,” he said.
“We were tight in the middle part of the race. I never really got it exactly where I needed it. We were one adjustment away from being really fast, but Carl’s Fastenal Mustang has always been really good here,” he added.
Pole-sitter, Brad Keselowksi, like Edwards a full-time Sprint Cup series driver, led 89 of the first 115 laps but had engine problems that forced him to run on seven cylinders and he finished twelfth.
“I’m not sure what happened with the motor,” Keselowski said. “Something broke and we’re still not really sure. It’s a little bit disappointing because we had such a fast Discount Tire Dodge at the start of the race.”
Austin Dillon, Richard Childress’ grandson, followed up his Friday night’s Camping World Truck Series win with a third place in a Kevin Harvick, Inc-owned Chevrolet.
Dillon led a few laps but after the final pit stop when he took two new tires he couldn’t keep up with the Roush Fenway drivers: "I think it shows that we can go out and compete against these Cup guys at another level," he said.
All was not well for the KHI team however as Elliott Sadler, who had arrived in the series lead, lost it when he broke down on pit lane with a rear axle problem.
Sadler finished in 30th place, falling to third in the championship, 14 points back to Reed Sorenson who finished eighth and is five points ahead of Stenhouse Jr.